∴ikura

Litter as marketing

When walking around Oakland, CA, it’s easy to dismiss
all the small trash laying around the streets & sidewalks.
I’m used to it — as I’m sure are most city-dwellers of big
American cities. It occurred to me, that trash (bearing the
brand’s stamp) works as decent marketing, whether
these fast-food chains, grocery stores, etc. know it or not.

Taco Bell, the only fast-food beacon I still go to occasionally,
offers hot-sauce packets with their name on them. And not
unlike how a proud sycamore tree spreads its helicopter-like
seeds, somehow, so does Taco Bell. Around Oakland,
discarded hot-sauce packets are everywhere to be found.

Admittedly, this sticky aluminum trash, as polluting
as it is, is effective marketing. I am a prospect for Taco
Bell, and those rubbish packets are a constant reminder of
their brand.

Trash that sticks around

I was at a beach over the weekend. From Oakland to the
Pacific Ocean, it’s only a quick drive. Even though I had
escaped town for a spell, I hadn’t escaped branded pieces
of plastic. Lo, at the beach were oodles of Wendy’s, Volkswagen,
Safeway, Coca-Cola plastic bits. It seems this stuff goes into
the ocean, ungulates for a while & is regurgitated back to the
shore to prey on prospects like me (not to mention other
animals who gobble it up in a more primitive fashion).
Indeed, litter can crusade for some long-lasting marketing.

Bits teaching lessons

Garbage is gross; obviously, it’s not a viable marketing tactic
for brands. But it got me thinking in the abstract: start-ups
can find a million ways for recognition outside of what’s
conventional or even known.

The prospect’s mind is endlessly trying to adhere to things.
If rubbish can have successful marketing side-effects,
one should be loose with ideas in attracting
newcomers to your doorstep.